


Mario for a Day

by Magestii



Category: Super Mario & Related Fandoms
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adventure & Romance, Chapter: Bowser's Castle has graphic depictions of violence and one curse so just be safe!, DOES include ocs as side-characters, Eventual Smut, F/F, as seen in super mario rpg, or whatever, the ocs were created solely for this story and no other, they exist only to further the plot as party allies to the protagonist
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-20
Updated: 2018-01-01
Packaged: 2019-02-04 19:06:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 14,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12777534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Magestii/pseuds/Magestii
Summary: Mario gets sick one day, and so he asks Pauline for a favor. Pauline very quickly realizes that she may be out of her league. This fic will most likely be rated M or E once future chapters are uploaded.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I have a total of five chapters written so far, the following four will need a great deal of editing, however, because each subsequent chapter employs new plot devices that need to be set up in prior chapters. This is a prologue, meaning that it sets the scene for the story, but does not yet reveal the actual plot. Still, I hope that you'll find it to your liking. Without further ado, I hope you enjoy it!

Mario had been outstandingly helpful to Pauline when she had needed him the most, and so she was perfectly happy to return the favor when he wound up getting sick. After all, his immediate work was completely okay with him missing a day, and so all that she really needed to do was make sure that nothing in the Mushroom Kingdom caught on fire while he wasn’t looking. With Peach being a perfectly competent woman, Pauline thought that she had a pretty easy job. She was wrong.

 

Almost as soon as she was ready to get some of her other work done, she received a letter that had been sent to Mario and then re-addressed to her. Inside were two folded pieces of paper. One of them was pastel pink with very neat, small handwriting on it, and she chose this one first. It read:

 

“Dear Mario,  
I thought that it would be nice if we spent some time together.  
Would you like to chat over tea and cake?  
Princess Peach.”

 

Pauline blanched. It was a little unprofessional of Mario to send his girlfriend’s love letters to his ex-girlfriend. Unless… He did say to watch over the mushroom kingdom. Did he really want her to go on a date with his girlfriend? Was that what his idea of “filling in for me” entailed? Pauline shook her head, before her attention was grabbed by the next piece of paper. It was old and yellowed, and had Mario’s familiar handwriting on it. Pauline opened it up, taking a look.

 

“Dear Pauline,  
Every single time that I have ever gotten a letter from Peach asking that we go on a date, she’s been abducted. Seriously, every single time, without falter. I know that it’s a lot to ask, but could you just pay her a visit? Say it’s from me, thanks  
Mario.”

 

Pauline read and reread the letter, confused. So… he expected her to go hang out with his girlfriend whom she had never met. It was a lot to ask, but she supposed that she could understand his concern. Getting abducted was traumatizing, and she’d hate for that to happen to anyone, even Peach. She was thoroughly confused despite this. Was she supposed to bring anything? Should she just… show up? Eventually, she just decided to do Mario a huge solid and bring Peach some red roses, claiming that they were from him. That way, she also wouldn’t come empty handed.

 

When Pauline arrived at Peach’s castle, it was not without mild confusion from its residents. On second thought, strutting up to her front door with a bouquet of roses would look a little weird out of context. Toad still greeted her, and she explained why she was there, so he showed her to the room where Peach awaited. She didn’t know why, but she felt… uncomfortable. 

 

Knocking politely on the princess’s door, she immediately realized why she felt uncomfortable.

 

“Come in,” chimed a voice. It was innocent but there were still some rather… implicit undertones, and suddenly, Pauline was not really sure that she wanted to come in. I mean the woman was waiting for Mario in her private quarters, anticipating a long period of time spent alone together. Pauline felt very, very out of her element. Regardless, she did as she was told, politely opening the door with an apologetic look.

 

“Mario sends his apologies-” she began, before looking at the room in front of her. Or rather, the woman in the room in front of her. Peach was… well, she was… something. Pauline politely looked away, blushing a little out of civility.

 

“Sorry, princess,” she said, “Mario sent me to see you. He’s sick today, you see…”

 

“And he sent you?” asked the woman. Her voice didn’t sound demeaning, just curious. Still, Pauline wished that Peach would get into a different position. It simply wasn’t decent, her entire calf was showing.

 

“Yes,” she responded, still looking away, “he wanted to make sure that you were okay. He said that in the past, sometimes your letters were cries for help, so he wanted me to check on you.”

 

“That’s sweet,” was the response, “I really was just looking to have some time with him, though. Thank you for coming on his behalf.” Pauline nodded.

 

“It’s no problem,” she said, finally returning her gaze to the woman. Sure, she was still a little exposed, but they were both girls, “anyway, he brought you some roses.” She closed the distance between the two of them, carefully handing the bouquet to Peach.

 

“He did?” Peach seemed skeptical, before smiling absently “that’s unusual.” 

 

“If you really are fine then I’ll just take my leave now,” Pauline continued, taking a step back, “I’ll tell Mario you liked the roses and that you’re doing well.”

 

“You could stay for cake if you liked,” offered Peach, looking up at Pauline with a smile that she couldn’t really read.

 

“I’m… sorry?” asked Pauline.

 

“Well it would be a shame to let it go to waste, and I’m certainly not going to eat it all by myself,” responded Peach, standing up, “besides, it’ll be a chance to get to know you better.” Pauline really did not want to stay. 

 

“I mean, I’ve still got to do a lot of paperwork for New Donk City-” she began, cut off abruptly. 

 

“You should stay,” Peach insisted, softly but in a way that made Pauline think that she might not have any other option, “I think I’ll like your company.”

 

“Princess…” managed Pauline, utterly confused. 

 

“Please,” chimed the woman, already headed to her balcony, “call me Peach.” Pauline could do nothing but follow her.


	2. Gayke (Gay Cake)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peach isn't as innocent as she seems.

Pauline wound up having a surprisingly pleasant conversation with the girlfriend of her ex-boyfriend. She found that Peach was quite right, and that she did really enjoy her company. The woman was always polite, but she clearly had a sense of humor that she was able to get away with by feigning obliviousness to the real point of whatever she said. Before Pauline knew it, a few hours had passed, and they both decided to head inside, as the air grew cold. What she wasn’t expecting was Peach, innocently grabbing her hand and leading her there. 

 

They both sat down on a loveseat, and Peach leaned on her side, absently resting her head on Pauline’s shoulder. The mayor couldn’t help but think that she was intruding, but she also… really didn’t mind. She knew that she herself was attracted to women, she had known it for a while, the only problem was that this particular woman was taken by a friend of hers. While she’d like to indulge herself, she knew that it would break his heart, and so she kept her hands to herself, allowing Peach to do whatever she pleased without returning the favor.

 

“I’m cold…” murmured Peach, seeming drowsy, “won’t you hold me?” Pauline froze.

 

“I- um- I mean, we can grab a blanket,” she offered, feeling Peach shake her head.

 

“Peach, I can’t help but feel that I’d be intruding on events that you and Mario should only ever experience together,” she said.

 

“Mmm?” asked Peach. Pauline looked over to answer, before the words that she was going to say got caught in her throat. Peach was very, very close. She was staring up at her, smiling in an innocent yet undeniably smug sort of way. 

 

“You aren’t intruding on anything,” responded Peach, speaking quietly now because of her close proximity to the other woman, “you’re perfectly welcome.” Pauline’s heart sped up. The other woman’s face was mere inches from hers, looking up at her coquettishly, lips quirked in a smile. 

 

“Peach…” was all that Pauline could really say. It was very, very difficult for her not to act on the opportunity that was being presented to her. Peach’s hand on her shoulder gently tugged her down, and the blonde woman closed her eyes. Their lips brushed. Stars, they were so close, but Pauline had to close the gap. In one swift motion, she indulged herself, wrapping her arms around the smaller and incredibly alluring woman and pulling her closer. Peach squeaked and let herself be maneuvered onto Pauline’s lap, holding onto her until she felt the woman’s torso fit snugly between her legs. She loved how it felt, but Pauline still had not kissed her, and she was incredibly disappointed. She opened her eyes, now having to look down a little to meet those of the other woman.

 

“Are you sure?” demanded Pauline. Her voice made Peach shiver. There was that undertone that she hadn’t heard in so painfully long, the deeper timbre to the voice which implied just about everything that Peach needed to know.

 

“Take me.” Peach whispered the command, looking down at Pauline with nothing but certainty in her eyes and a tiny, smug smirk on her lips. Alright, Pauline supposed. She had won. She could deal with the aftermath later. Pauline eagerly placed her hands on Peach’s waist, craning her neck a little to reach the woman’s lips. Before she could get what they both so desperately wanted, however, there was a loud crash. Pauline looked in the direction of the noise, and Peach whined in utter and complete frustration, pressing herself as close to her partner as physics would allow. There were loud thuds, and Pauline held Peach close.

 

The princess curled up in her lap, and Pauline looked to see that there was a slight hint of fear in her formerly confident eyes. 

 

“Is that..?” she whispered. Peach nodded. Bowser. 

 

“We have to hide you,” decided Pauline. Peach shook her head.

 

“It won’t work!” she whispered in return, “it never does!”

 

“What do you mean ‘it never does?’” asked Pauline, “has Mario even tried?”

 

“There’s no time to explain this right now!” Peach responded in a stage whisper, “we have to fight him.”

 

“If you could fight Bowser, we wouldn’t have a problem in the first place, right?” responded Pauline.

 

“I can take him now,” responded Peach, looking determined.

 

“Please, don’t hurt yourself,” said Pauline. Peach shook her head, standing firm. The door burst down, and Bowser barged into the room.

 

“Peach! Mar-” Bowser stopped for a moment, blinking in confusion. “Feminine mario…” he continued, looking a little concerned, “it’s no use resisting me! Peach, my darling, come with me, you wouldn’t want to miss our wedding!” Bowser tried to scoop Peach up in one arm. She sidestepped it as if she knew exactly where he was going to hit before he even swung. 

 

“Bowser,” she said politely, looking thoroughly put off but not concerned, “may I not just have one date where you don’t intrude upon us?”

 

“Not if it ain’t a date with me!” responded Bowser, “that’s life!” He tried to swipe at Peach again, but she jumped, landing on his hand. While he was confused, she ran up his arm, jumping behind him and grabbing his tail. Bowser realized exactly what danger he was in, and so he jumped into the air as best he could with his tail being held, tossing himself backwards shell-first. Peach rolled out from the path of destruction without a second to spare, hopping to her feet and looking up. Bowser dove for her, but Pauline wound up and slapped him across the face with her purse. It hit him surprisingly hard, and he recoiled in shock.

 

“Well, well, well,” he commented, “Mario’s learned to actually fight back when Peach is in danger. Nice job! You almost hurt me!”

 

“The name’s Pauline,” hissed Pauline, going at him again. He simply caught her with one hand, which was roughly the size of her body, and tossed her aside, grabbing Peach with the other. The princess struggled in vain to escape his grasp, and Bowser broke through the glass door onto the balcony, hopping onto an awaiting airship. Because, Pauline reasoned, of course he brought the airship. 

 

She sprinted out after him, looking up to Peach, who stared back at her with nothing but pure terror. 

 

“Don’t come after me!” she yelled, “please, Pauline, don’t come after me!” Pauline was busy removing her six-inch high heels and throwing them at Bowser’s head. He spat angrily, but was mostly unaffected. 

 

“Nice try, Paul, but for now, your princess is in another castle!” Bowser roared with laughter as he pulled himself and the princess fully onto his ship. 

 

“Don’t- Pauline!!” Screamed Peach. Pauline looked at the railing, jumping up onto it but obviously not being anywhere close to reaching Peach. She could only look off after the woman, curling her hands into fists. If there was one lesson that Peach wanted her to remember, it was not to come after her.


	3. An Unlikely Ally

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pauline goes after her. You had one job, Pauline.

Without hesitation, Pauline disregarded Peach’s orders and went after the princess. She returned to Peach’s quarters, gathering her purse, before running barefoot into the hallway. A few passing Toads tried to ask her what was going on, but she either ignored them or gently pushed them out of the way in order to get to the exit. There was no time to spare. Breaking out into the cold night air, Pauline spotted the ship and chased it as best she could, thankful that she was not wearing high heels. It wasn’t long before Bowser pulled up so that he was above the clouds, making it impossible for Pauline to track him.

 

Stars, she had lost her. Pauline didn’t stop running, frantically scanning the clouds for any signs of Bowser’s airship, but ultimately coming up with nothing. She was so focused on the sky that she didn’t notice the drop in front of her until she slammed down her feet and was met with nothing but air. She fell for one, terrifying moment, before crashing to the ground and collapsing. It had been a long, long day.

 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- \--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

When Pauline awoke, it was to a headache, a soft warmth on her forehead, and the smell of something savory being cooked over a burner. After blinking her eyes a few times, the room around her came into focus, and she saw that she was in a cute little bedroom, the walls of which seemed to be made of wood. Upon her forehead was a warm rag that must have been placed there in an attempt to soothe her headache. Setting the rag aside, she got up slowly, head spinning, and tried to figure out where she was. It didn’t look familiar at all. As if on queue, a goomba entered the room, and she jumped in shock. It smiled at her, seeming to be not at all harmful.

 

“I’m so relieved that you’re up! You looked like you got pretty hurt back there,” said the Goomba. Its voice was distinctly feminine. Pauline was completely shocked that a Goomba could even talk in the first place, and this was a lot for her to take in. She just stood there, mouth agape.

 

“Oh, sorry! Where are my manners? I’m Goombrielle. I saw that you were in pretty bad shape, so I took you in,” said the Goomba. Pauline grasped for words.

 

“T...Thank you, Goombrielle,” she said. There was a tremor in her voice, but her gratitude was genuine, “I was chasing Bowser’s ship, and must have run straight off of a ledge…” Goombrielle laughed a little.

 

“Really? Man, that would have been a silly way to go!” she exclaimed.

 

“Yeah…” muttered Pauline, still in shock, “did you see where the ship went? Bowser took Princess Peach from her castle, they could be anywhere!” Goombrielle furrowed her gigantic brow, appearing deep in thought.

 

“No, sorry miss,” she responded, “all I saw was you lyin’ on the ground.”

 

“Thank you anyway,” sighed Pauline, looking around the room, “it was really nice of you to go out of your way to take care of someone in need. People like you give me hope.” The goomba smiled in return.

 

“Aw, it was nothin!” she chirped, “I always try to help out a person in need. Besides, no one could possibly just leave you lying there in the cold.”

 

“Well, I appreciate it,” said Pauline. She paused for a moment, opening her mouth to speak before there was a loud crash from outside. Goombrielle jumped, looking shocked.

 

“That didn’t sound good!” she exclaimed, running out of the room. Pauline followed her closely, running through a living room and out into the world. That was when she saw something that made her blood run cold. Goombas were attacking other goombas all around the small village. The rougher, meaner looking goombas would actually pick up their opponents and run away with them once they had knocked them out. Goombrielle shrieked, running forward and headbutting one of the cruel-looking goombas. Pauline, of course, went over and helped her. 

 

She had very little on her except her purse and hat, but she found that her purse could easily be used as a melee weapon. Decking the violent goomba over the head with her purse, Pauline effectively got it to run off.

 

“What’s going on?!” she demanded. 

 

“Bad goombas are here!” responded Goombrielle, dodging as a goomba was thrown past her, “they’re the ones who are loyal to Bowser! They usually leave us alone, though, I don’t understand why they’re here right now!”

 

Pauline whacked another goomba with her purse and sent it running. Because of her height and weapon advantage, she was able to help the goombas scare away the villains, and everyone was left to recuperate. Goombrielle was looking around, a look of deep concentration etched into her face.

 

“Goonther!” she called, receiving no response, “Goonther! Has anyone seen Goonther?!” There were murmurs of unrest, but no response. Slowly, more and more voices began to cry out the names of their loved ones. 

 

“Some of them must have been taken!” exclaimed a voice.

 

“Taken? Where would they even go?!” screeched another. The crowd slowly erupted into an uproar, and Goombrielle was left standing next to Pauline, shocked and confused.

 

“I’m going to fight bowser,” Pauline decided, “I’ll bring them back, along with Peach.”

 

“I’m going with you,” stated Goombrielle, “Goonther is my little brother. I need to save him myself.”

 

“Are you sure?” asked Pauline, “you could get hurt.”

 

“Me? Naw, I’ll be fine,” responded Goombrielle, “Bowser, on the other hand… oh, when I get to him, he’s gonna wish he never hatched from his pathetic little egg.”

 

“Well, I certainly won’t tell you to stay,” Pauline decided, after a brief moment of consideration. 

 

“Trust me, you couldn’t make me stay if you tried,” boasted Goombrielle, “now let’s get going!”

 

“I can’t say no to that logic,” Pauline said, shrugging and beginning to walk out of town. There was a brief moment of silence as they walked through the grassy forest, before Goombrielle spoke again.

 

“So… where are we going?” she asked. Pauline, who had been carefully surveying the woods for any signs of movement, stopped for a moment.

 

“We’re going to find those goombas and see if we can get them to talk,” said Pauline, “if they’re loyal to Bowser then they have to know where he is.”

 

“Alright! Sounds like a plan!” exclaimed Goombrielle. And then, there were two.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- \--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Peach sat, tied to a chair, wearing a dog’s muzzle and glaring daggers at Bowser, who seemed more relaxed than ever. 

 

“Why the long face, princess?” He cooed. Well, it was still a growl, but it was the best possible impression of a tender voice that he could manage. Peach just glared at him, and Bowser stood up, throwing his arms in the air.

 

“I mean, we’re getting married, babe!” he exclaimed, laughing a little, “you should be celebrating, but something’s got you down. What is it?” Peach glared.

 

“Is it that mean little plumber?” asked Bowser, feigning empathy. Peach hissed something that sounded like ‘mayor, actually,’ but Bowser didn’t seem to hear her.

 

“Polly can’t get you here,” he reassured her, “but if she really is bothering you so much, then I can help you out.” Bowser sighed dramatically, looking out of the windows of his ship, “the things I do for love.”

 

“Tell you what, Peachie,” he began, “how's about we wait till she comes to us, and then we punish her?” Peach shook her head, still glaring at him.

 

“You’re right, that’s too simple,” he hissed, shaking his head, “she needs a better send-off. Ooh, I’ve got it! I’ve got just the thing!” With that, he stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Away from his prying eyes, Peach rested her head on the table before her and wept.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There wasn't much of Peach in this chapter, but I felt that it was important to write this in order to ground the story. With that, I hope that you liked this chapter! I have the following two chapters already written, so they should be up shortly. Thanks for reading!


	4. His Shroomliness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meet the shroom king while Bowser psychologically tortures Peach with the knowledge of what he's going to do to Pauline.

Finding the goombas wasn’t very difficult for Pauline and her new friend. Getting information from them was also not difficult, because they were cowards. Goombrielle was able to fend for herself amazingly well, and it took very little time for them to find the self-proclaimed ‘Goomba King’ in his tiny castle. As they saw it, silhouetted on the horizon, they realized that they could hear a faint, constant roar. The harsh glow from afar alerted them to the fact that there was a wildfire. 

 

As they approached and the castle came fully into view, Pauline and Goombrielle realized that the fire was surrounding the castle like a moat, making it impossible to get inside. Atop the castle, which was actually just a glorified rook, stood a goomba that was five-times the size of Pauline in both height and width. It wore an ill-fitting crown, a cruel smirk, and nothing else. 

 

“Just try and get past these flames, Mario,” it boasted, “you won’t find yourself getting anywhere anytime soon.” Pauline looked slightly annoyed, and Goombrielle looked between her and the Goomba King in confusion.

 

“Um… you have the wrong guy, oh shroomish one,” said Goombrielle, bowing. 

 

“EH?!” Demanded the king, “What’s that supposed to mean?!”

 

“Well, this here is Pauline,” Goombrielle explained, “she’s just here to seek your counsel. You see your shroomliness, Mario’s very short and also a man, and as you can see here, Pauline is very tall and a woman, so she’s clearly not Mario.” 

 

The Goomba King paused for a moment, before grinning. No one had ever come to seek HIS counsel before.

 

“Well then, my apologies for the confusion, come right in!” he barked, disappearing into the castle for a moment. There was a loud thunk from within the castle, and the fire receded into the earth. Pauline wasted no time stepping through, Goombrielle in tow. 

 

“Now,” sighed the Goomba King, walking out of his castle, “what was it that you needed to talk about? I’m listening.”

 

“Mario’s sick today so I came to rescue the princess in his place,” said Pauline. The Goomba King blinked.

 

“What?” he asked.

 

“You work for Bowser, right?” asked Pauline.

 

“Yes…” responded the Goomba King, backing up and sounding uncomfortable. 

 

“Well, where did he take the princess?” asked Pauline. 

 

“I… I can’t just tell you that…” the King was in the doorway now, and he kept backing up.

 

“You’re going to tell me, though,” said Pauline, taking a step forward for each step that the King took backwards. 

 

“O-oh? Is that so?” managed the King, sounding uncomfortable. He had been backed into the wall of his own Castle by a human who was one-fifth his size.

 

“Yep,” responded Pauline, “I’m here on business from Mario. I could crush you, or, you could give me the information that I want to know.” The Goomba King appeared to think for a moment. 

 

“Alright, alright, I’ll tell you…. It’s-” without warning, he jumped on top of Pauline, slamming her against the ground before springing away, “guards!” Two, regularly-sized goombas ran in from upstairs, somehow carrying spears. 

 

“Seize them!” exclaimed the Goomba King, his face growing red with anger. Goombrielle looked to Pauline, who nodded, before they both launched into action. Goombrielle took on the two weaker goombas while Pauline tackled the king, jumping on him twice. While that would have killed a normal goomba, it just knocked the king’s crown off. He fumed, stomping his feet, and his face grew even redder. 

 

Before either Pauline or Goombrielle could react, the king charged them, knocking them both aside and slamming them against the hard stone walls opposite one another. As Pauline collected herself, a guard leapt onto her head, whacking her, before running back to its king. She pulled her hat off of her head, throwing it at the goomba and confusing it. As soon as it opened its eyes, it was met with a flash of purple and a purse to the face, which sent it flying. It hit the opposing wall right next to Goombrielle, who was fighting the other enemy goomba, and slid down. It had been knocked out cold. Goombrielle made quick work of the other goomba, and that left the king, whose head was even redder. He let out a screech and charged Pauline, but she dove to the side just in time, leaving him to charge straight into his own wall. He charged with such force that he broke the wall and got his head stuck. 

 

Pauline took a moment to collect herself, before walking outside to see the very disoriented Goomba King.

 

“So, Bowser’s Castle. Where is it,” she asked dryly. 

 

“Like I would ever yell you!” shrieked the king, all sense of dignity completely lost. 

 

“You’re right, you won’t tell me,” Pauline sighed, looking to Goombrielle as she exited the castle behind her, “he’s useless, so we should just get rid of him.” She raised her purse, ready to deal the final blow to the back of his head, when he shrieked again.

 

“No, no! I’ll talk!” he exclaimed, “inside of my castle, in the dungeons, I keep my treasury. You’ll find a map there.”

 

“And will there be any guards waiting for us?” asked Pauline. The goomba shook his head, almost suffocating himself.

 

“N-no, just a couple loser goombas that I found in the village nearby!” he exclaimed. “You can even take the key from the shelf inside, just don’t hurt me!” Goombrielle perked up, looking to Pauline. Without another word, the two went inside, grabbed the key, and found the door to the cellar. It was so dark that they could barely see, save for the occasional torch that lit the way. Up ahead, they could hear a faint, quiet scuttling, and Goombrielle picked up the pace.

 

“Goonther!” she exclaimed, “Goonther, are you there?” There was a pause.

 

“Yeah, yeah I’m here! Goombrielle, is that you?! You gotta help us, man!” They came to the very last cell, where the goombas sat, and Pauline fumbled with the keys until she was finally able to get them out. 

 

“Goonther!” exclaimed Goombrielle, running inside and looking around. “Goommaw! You’re here too?!” A swarm of happy goombas lifted her up, cheering. 

 

“You saved us! We’re free! Hooray!” they sang, carrying Goombrielle outside. Pauline smiled, following closely behind. Once they were outside by the Goomba King, the goombas set Goombrielle down to stare at him.

 

“What do we do with this guy?” asked Goonther, the goomba with the baseball cap as his defining feature.

 

“We should just leave him,” said Goombrielle, “he’s learned his lesson. Besides, maybe he’ll learn from our hospitality.” She said the final bit while making eye contact with the king, frowning. He nodded frantically.

 

“I will, I will!” he exclaimed. With that, there was nothing left for Goombrielle to do but head back to her village. Pauline tagged along for a little bit, hanging off to the side and letting her have her moment. She deserved it. When the excitement seemed to draw to a close, Pauline slipped away from the small village, pulling a rumpled, agéd piece of paper out of her pocket and looking at it. This was it, the map to Bowser’s castle. It was written entirely in goomba, but she figured that she could at least use the pictures to navigate. Besides, Goombrielle had her own life to lead.

 

Pauline walked through the forest, checking the map carefully. She was slightly surprised when she saw that the destination kept moving a little bit, even though it appeared to be normal ink on paper. Thoroughly confused, she held the map up, turning it around to see if it caused the destination to move.

 

“Hey!” came a voice. Pauline turned around to see Goombrielle running after her.

 

“What, were you just gonna leave without me?! I s-” she broke off, panting, “swear to the stars, I WILL walk to Bowser’s castle myself!” She came to a stop in front of Pauline, looking slightly disgruntled.

 

“Your mission was completed,” said Pauline, “I figured that you would want to stay with your family. You don’t need to come with me anymore, right?”

 

“I mean no, I don’t need to,” huffed Goombrielle, “but you need me to. We do twice as much damage together and besides, I owe ya one!”

 

“You really don’t have to come,” said Pauline, “you’ve got a life to tend to.”

 

“Listen, you helped me out, and I’m gonna help you out, like it or not missy,” said Goombrielle, “I ain’t the type-a gal to just let favors go unreturned. You’re stuck with me till we get that princess of yours back.” Pauline paused, smiling.

 

“Well, if you really do want to come, I’d be glad to have you,” she said.

 

“That settles it! Now let me look at that map!” Goombrielle looked at the map, “how were you even plannin’ on reading this, missy? You speak old goomba?”

 

“No, I-”

 

“Oh my stars,” mumbled Goombrielle, “well alright, first off we’re heading in the wrong direction…” The two of them walked off in search of Peach, Goombrielle giving the best directions that she could. 

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bowser finished getting Peach into her special, steel restraints. As she sat there, glaring straight ahead, she had to shiver slightly. Electricity crackled and popped around her wrists. It wasn't enough to do even a little damage to her, Bowser had made sure of that, but it was just a little bit of friendly forewarning so that the princess would know what was in store for her and her white knight. As she was shocked again, Peach flinched, taking a sharp intake of breath. Bowser grinned.

 

"So, I see you've noticed my cunning plan," he said, coming to stand fully in front of her. In order to fully come into view, he had to stand behind the chair opposite Peach across the table. She frowned, ignoring him.

 

"Aw come on, babe!" he exclaimed, "I know- I _know_ that it's scary, but don't worry. I won't let that Paul guy hurt you. That's the reason for this setup, see?" He gestured around her, and Peach just sighed, looking utterly deflated.

 

"Put a smile on your face," he commanded, "she's going to be here soon, and _I've_ got preparations to make!" Bowser walked behind Peach, out of her field of view. She heard him climb a huge staircase, before a door slammed behind him, causing her to flinch. Peach felt the electricity surging around her, and furrowed her brow, willing herself not to cry again. Of course, despite her warnings, Pauline always came after her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I already have the Bowser's Castle scene written and edited, but I decided that it needed its own chapter because of its length and subject matter, so please bear with me.


	5. Bowser's Castle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT NOTE! The fic's rating has been changed to M for this fic because of this chapter, and it is not for smut, it is for violence and one swearword. There will be smut later on, but this chapter is rated M for violence. If you have difficulty reading about one seriously abusive relationship, then I'd skip over it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT NOTE! The fic's rating has been changed to M for this fic because of this chapter, and it is not for smut, it is for violence and one swearword. There will be smut later on, but this chapter is rated M for violence. If you have difficulty reading about one seriously abusive relationship, then I'd skip over it.
> 
> just reiterating so that you have twice the chance of seeing it

When Pauline and Goombrielle finally pushed through the bleak woods and arrived at Bowser’s castle, it was night time. The air was freezing, and the harsh wind caused the two of them to shiver. Their only source of light, save for Goombrielle’s headlamp that she had thought to bring with her, was a tiny sliver of moonlight in the sky. Even the stars seemed to shine dimly. 

 

“Yeesh,” muttered Goombrielle, “this guy just has to be edgy about everything, doesn’t he?” The bushes nearby rustled, and they were both effectively silenced. Pauline shivered as she passed the underbrush, feeling a pair of eyes on her, like needles, so close to her skin that she could feel them without actually being touched. She looked behind her, seeing nothing but the bushes, and kept going.

 

Oddly enough, she made it to the castle’s front door. The drawbridge was down, allowing her direct access. Other than the footsteps of Pauline and her companion, the world was cold, dead, and silent. Carefully, Pauline grabbed a giant ring, hearing it creak. She tugged gently, surprised as the door slowly opened before her with very little effort. Inside, it was completely dark, and there was not a sound. 

 

Goombrielle and Pauline exchanged nervous glances before heading inside. The huge parlor in front of them was flushed with a peculiar, dark fog. Goombrielle’s little headlight could barely even penetrate the peculiar, dust-filled air, and it was actually doing more harm than good, so she turned it off. Pauline couldn’t even see her hand in front of her own face. She carefully felt around for the walls, making sure that Goombrielle was right behind her, until she found a grand staircase. Perhaps, she hoped, that it would at least lead above the dark fog so that the headlight would be useful again. Heading up the stairs one-by-one until she could finally see the floor in front of her, she was relieved to be right. 

 

“Stars…” whispered Goombrielle in the quietest voice that she could muster. Even such a quiet voice sounded like a throat-wrenching scream in comparison to the silence, and Pauline jumped a little.

 

“Yeah, this is... a lot,” she agreed. They looked over the balcony to the floor below, where there was clearly a thick black cloud.

 

“Hey Pauline?” asked Goombrielle.

 

“Yeah?” whispered Pauline.

 

“How much do you wanna bet that the princess is down there?”

 

Pauline paused for a moment, mulling it over, before sighing.

 

“I’d… I’d bet a lot that she’s down there. But we don’t know for sure, we should check the other rooms before we spend a few hours looking around,” she decided. 

 

“Right,” agreed Goombrielle. They moved on in silence down the dark hallway with the checkered, creaky floorboards. They were in Bowser’s castle, but he was nowhere to be seen. Neither of them was particularly eager to make any loud noises, and so each time that the floorboards creaked beneath them, they jumped, holding their breath.

 

After a few minutes of walking down a seemingly-endless hallway, Pauline froze, raising a finger to her lips even though both of them were already silent. They both listened. There was a beat, and then Pauline heard a soft sobbing from up ahead. She and Goombrielle looked at one another, before they silently agreed to go forward. 

 

The sobbing was coming from a room to their left. Pauline opened the door as softly as she could, but it was old, and it let out a loud creak. As soon as the door opened, Pauline was relieved to find… nothing. Nothing at all, besides what looked to be an empty children’s room. The walls were whimsically painted pink, with little rockets drawn in intricate detail, and there were a few toys scattered across the floor.

 

“Princess..?” whispered Pauline. There was no response. The sobbing was gone. 

 

“This must be one of his kids’ rooms,” whispered Goombrielle, “but that doesn’t explain-” 

 

The sobbing started up again, coming from the closet to the left. Pauline took a deep breath, before gently opening it and looking around. There was nothing but clutter inside of the closet, except for a huge teddybear that looked like it had seen better days. The sobbing was coming from its… its stomach. 

 

“Hello?” whispered Pauline, “who’s there? We’re here to help you.” The sobbing continued, and Pauline swallowed. She moved towards the teddybear, pulling on its fabric. The withered old thing easily came apart, and she was surprised to be met with nothing but stuffing. Rooting around, Pauline’s heart sank, and her entire body grew tense. There wasn’t anyone inside to produce the sobs. She kept feeling around, just to make sure that no one was hurt. There was definitely no living creature in this room.

 

Resigned to her fate, she hastily left the doll, spinning around for just long enough to see a flash of light disappear. Goombrielle hadn’t seen it, and they continued on.

 

Every other room was frighteningly the same, until they had gone through each of Bowser’s children’s rooms with no sign of the princess. 

 

“You know what that leaves…” whispered Goombrielle. Pauline nodded. There was nothing left to do besides to head back downstairs. Through the smog, it took them a very long time, but Pauline finally ran into something hard at the center of the room.

 

“Peach?” she whispered, “is that you?” She heard a muffled noise in a familiar voice. Coming close enough to the object, Pauline recognized a chair. When she looked around the chair, she came face to face with the gagged, terrified princess, who let out a squeak of surprise when Pauline popped out from behind her.

 

“Peach, oh my stars, are you alright? What did Bowser do to you?!” Pauline quietly demanded, pulling Peach’s gag out as gently as she could, “I’m going to save you, we’re getting-”

 

“Pauline, behind you!” exclaimed Peach, seconds before Pauline felt herself get roughly yanked backwards, getting slammed into something solid with such force that she could feel bruises. Something fastened itself around her wrists and ankles, and she was forced into a sitting position. 

 

“Pauline?! Pauline!” Yelled Goombrielle, unable to see her. There was a loud thud, Goombrielle screamed, and then silence. After a moment, a fan whirred to life. Slowly, the majority of the fog was blown out of the castle, but the room was still pitch black. Pauline could barely see Peach sitting across from her. There was one other sound, the sound of something small, hollow, and plastic, rolling across the stone floor. When it finally came into view, Pauline gasped, biting back a scream. It was a cracked helmet with a flickering, sparking headlight attached to it. 

 

“G-Goombrielle!” she yelled, hoping for a response. There was none, besides a soft sob from the seat across from her. Peach had bowed her head so that Pauline couldn’t see her cry.

 

“Peach… Peach, look at me… it’s going to be okay,” she said, hoping that she could sound reassuring even as she was terrified.

 

“No, no it’s not,” managed Peach. Her voice was so small, and it sounded scratchy, like she had been screaming. 

 

“You are COOOOOOORRECT!” boomed a harsh, growling voice. With a loud pop, a single, blinding spotlight came on at the top of the grand staircase, illuminating Bowser in all of his glory.  
He stood in a white suit and bowtie, microphone in one hand, button in the other. As he walked down the stairs, the spotlight followed him, until he was standing next to Peach and Pauline.

 

“It is, in fact, NOT going to be okay!” he announced, “it is going to be WONDERFUL!” There was another harsh pop, and a hot, white light illuminated Pauline and Peach from above. 

 

“Ladies and ladies, I brought you here tonight for one reason, one beautiful reason. Do you know what that is?!” he demanded. Peach opened her mouth to scream.

 

“Ah, ah, ah!” Bowser Scolded, “you’re already in on the secret, sweetie-pie. It’s miss Marine’s turn to guess, and her time is up!” A loud buzzer sounded, and on the board behind Bowser, a large red ‘X’ appeared. He pressed the button in his left hand, and Pauline felt herself receive a little shock of electricity.

 

“That was a fine example of the new game that we are going to be playing tonight, broadcasted all over the world! Pauline, as the first contestant, how does it feel?!” Bowser held his microphone to Pauline’s face, and she frowned.

 

“Oooh! Wrong again, what bad luck!” the buzzer sounded, and Bowser pressed the button again. Pauline winced, feeling herself get shocked with more force this time.

 

“Anyway, today you two lucky contestants are here to play a lovely little game called…. Your Life’s in JEOPARDY! You must answer with a question, and whoever answers incorrectly will get zapped! If you both answer correctly, you’re both zapped, and if neither of you speaks, you’re both zapped, understand?!” Pauline furrowed her brow. The shocks had hurt, yes, but she could take them if it would keep Peach safe.

 

“Oh, I almost forgot! Each time that you get electrocuted, the voltage increases by twice itself! So eventually, one of you will have to die. Sorry, them’s the rules, ladies! Now I know that our sweet, brave little Mario- or… Paul...y…” Bowser paused, before picking right back up, “would never let Peach get hurt, so Paul, you know what to do.” He winked in Pauline’s face, his stinking breath causing her to recoil so hard that she hit her head against the back of the stone chair.

 

“Without further ado, let’s get started!” He roared. “First question: what color is Mario’s signature hat?”

 

“What is: Blue!” screamed Peach, before Pauline could even think of a wrong answer. Bowser blinked a little.

 

“Peachie, you’re not supposed to answer wrong,” he explained, “that gets you zapped. You’ll die if you keep doing that.” Peach glared at him, puffing out her cheeks in anger. Bowser growled, enraged, and slapped her across the face for a moment before pressing the button. Peach squeaked, before clenching her teeth. The slap had left a deep red mark on her face, and it looked like that she was going to bleed from the places that the claws had hit.

 

“Don’t let it happen again!” he roared. Pauline gasped, feeling like she wanted to throw up. She looked over to Peach, who was avoiding eye contact.

 

“Next question!” yelled Bowser, “what’s my name?!”

 

“Wario!” Pauline yelled immediately, beating Peach to the punch by a few seconds. Bowser smirked and zapped her. This shock was more painful than anything that Pauline had ever felt before. She could feel millions of flaming hot needles poking at the inside of her skin, and she had to bite back a scream.

 

“Next Question!” howled Bowser, “Peach is Princess of the WHAT kingdom?!”

 

“Butterfly!” yelled Peach, beating Pauline by a fraction of a second. Bowser snarled, zapping her, before grabbing a fistfull of her hair and pulling her as far out of her seat as her restraints would allow. 

 

“Do. not. do. that,” he growled, face mere centimeters from hers. She spit in his face, and he threw her into the chair so hard that she was momentarily stunned, unable to think clearly.

 

“Final question!” he announced. Both women sat to attention, looking right at him.

 

“Who’s my little bitch?” he growled in a low voice, looking directly at Peach.

 

“Nobody,” Pauline responded immediately. Bowser snarled, showing his teeth, before cackling and slamming his fist on the button. Pauline screamed, feeling the white-hot prickles of electricity course through her body. It was just slow enough that she didn’t die immediately. Peach was screaming her name and sobbing with her, tears mixing with the fresh blood from the wound that Bowser had given her. With that, Pauline felt her body collapse, seeing through dim eyes for just a moment before everything ended.


	6. A Day in the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A dreamlike memory and a little pep talk from a certain ally.

_Pauline was on her regular commute to the Mushroom Kingdom. Of course, she went there whenever she could, because she hated that her work had to take her so away from her girlfriend. She had received another neatly-written letter inviting her over for a small event, and of course she couldn’t be late. Peach was so adorable when she actually worked up the guts to ask for things._

_“Dear Pauline,_  
I miss you dearly even though we’ve only just parted  
Will you come back to Mushroom Kingdom very soon?  
I want to be with you again,  
-Peach” 

_She smiled as she reread the letter. She was always so formal whenever she wrote to her, for fear that someone else might find and open the letters. Pauline was suddenly off of the train and outside of the castle, walking towards it. It was a beautiful day, full of bright, vibrant flowers and a moderately warm temperature with a small breeze. Toad eagerly greeted her as she approached._

_“Hello again, Pauline!” he chirped, “Peach is still getting ready, but she asked me to send you up!”_

_“Thank you, Toad,” Pauline responded, walking past him and into the castle. She knew that place like the back of her hand, and at this point, it felt like a second home. The familiar scents and sounds of little mushroom people milling about made her feel at ease, and she went to Peach’s chamber on autopilot, finding the woman waiting within._

_When she entered, Peach ran to hug her, grinning, before pulling back sheepishly._

_“I’m so glad that you could make it,” she said, looking at her with a look of affection so strong that it made Pauline’s actual heart feel like it was being hugged. She dipped down, kissing the princess on the nose before brushing past her to sit on the loveseat near her bed._

_“So,” she chuckled a little, watching the princess sit down beside her in her favorite spot, “how’ve you been since we last talked?” Peach huffed._

_“Oh, come on! I know that I just saw you yesterday, but… I missed you, okay?” she asked, pouting a little._

_“I know, I know… I missed you too, princess,” responded Pauline, “one of these days, we need to figure out how to live together.”_

_“Yes please,” whined Peach, “it would be nice to get to sleep with you and then wake up with you still there.”_

_“The feeling is mutual,” murmured Pauline, running a hand through her partner’s hair, “I’m just not sure about how the kingdom would react to it. To me staying over, that is. Our relationship is already taboo as is.”_

_“Yes, but they’ll understand,” mumbled Peach, resting her head in the crook of Pauline’s neck, “they’re toads, they have tens of thousands of genders. I don’t think that it’s even possible for them to be in a straight relationship, so they have to understand us.”_

_“And if not, I’ll just whisk you away to the city,” added Pauline._

_“Mmm…” murmured Peach, “I really would love to visit you there more often. Just kick back and relax for a little while in your house, it sounds amazing.”_

_“Are you stressed out?” asked Pauline._

_“Like you wouldn’t believe,” responded Peach. There was a pause, and Peach looked up to Pauline to see a familiar, mischievous glint in her eyes and a smile on her lips._

_“What are you planning?” asked Peach._

_“We could just go now!” decided Pauline, “you could just come with me. We could relax together and nobody would even know, so long as I got you back by tonight. It could be like a little adventure, like running away together!” Peach giggled._

_“You always were a romantic,” she murmured, nuzzling into the woman, “but I could never do that. My kingdom needs me.”_

_“I understand that,” responded Pauline, still running her fingers through the woman’s hair, “you don’t need to rush. Whenever you’re comfortable with it, we can just take a day for us and no one else.”_

_“I’d like that,” sighed Peach, “I’d like that a lot.”_

_“Then it’s a date.”_

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Pauline! Hey!” With pain that shot through her clouded, foggy mind like sharp, jagged bullets, Pauline registered a sound. Her eyes were so heavy that she could barely manage to force one open to see Toad standing over her. He waved to her frantically, and she managed to open her other eye. Sitting up was an effort, it felt like her insides were charred, and they were rubbing against one another each time she moved to cause a pain unlike any that she had ever known.

 

“Pauline, I’m so glad I found you, there’s not much time! Bowser got the princess, but I have something that you need to know!” exclaimed Toad. 

 

“Whhaaahhhhh…” croaked Pauline. Her throat was dry and cracked. Looking around her, she remembered what had happened. Right, the electrocution. So that was what losing a life felt like.

 

‘Now I need a one-up girl,’ she thought groggily.

 

“Pauline, Peach needs your help, but you need to listen to me!” said Toad.

 

“Hrg?” asked Pauline. 

 

“When you find Princess Peach, take her out of the trap, but leave her asleep!” demanded Toad.

 

“Wh-okah…” managed Pauline. Her mouth felt… less bad? She guessed?

 

“I have to go now, you need to move!” Toad was suddenly gone, and Pauline lay on the floor, dazed. What. For a while, she just sat there, slowly moving her limbs and getting used to the way that it felt to be alive. It hurt. A lot. When she stood up, she almost fell down again, but she stabilized herself, for Peach. 

 

Taking just one more moment to collect herself, she started off on her first objective.

 

“Goombrielle!” she yelled, “Goombrielle, are you there?!” There was nothing but silence.

 

“Yeah…” croaked a voice. Pauline ran in the direction of her voice, eventually finding her behind a tall, marble pillar. Bowser must have missed her. 

 

“Goombrielle, here, wait a minute…” Pauline reached into her purse, pulling out a small tonic, which she gave to Goombrielle. It patched her up quickly and she was back to her normal self.

 

“Ouch, jeez!” decided Goombrielle, “you don’t look too good yourself but man- that hurt! He just hit me aside, man! I had to crawl as best I could so he wouldn’t see me. What a jerk.” Pauline paused.

 

“Goombrielle, I think that you should go home,” she said. 

 

“What?” asked the goomba, laughing nervously, “what do you mean?”

 

“You could have died. You’re too young, you have a family who loves you, and you’ve got a village to protect. You should go home,” said Pauline. Goombrielle’s face fell.

 

“I… what are you saying…?” she managed, seeming very upset. 

 

“You’re not safe, Goombrielle. That could have killed you, and he would have if you hadn’t been able to hide,” said Pauline, “I don’t want you to die because of me. You don’t need anything else, and I think that you should go home.”

 

“But-”

 

“Go home, Goombrielle.” Pauline was stern, looking the goomba dead in the eyes. It was obvious that she wouldn’t take no for an answer.

 

“What, just like that?” asked Goombrielle. Her voice wavered a little as she spoke. “That’s how this story ends for me?”

 

“Goombrielle-” 

 

“No, Pauline, I’m not just an NPC,” said Goombrielle, “I have my own thoughts and ambitions. I know that I’m taking a risk when I’m going with you, but… Heck, man… you’re my friend. I want to help you, regardless of the danger. Besides, we get to see so much cool stuff! It’s better than just dying of old age after doing nothing for my entire life. I want to go with you.” She also looked like she wasn’t taking no for an answer. They were at a standstill. 

 

“Goombrielle, you could have died because of me. I can’t accept that,” stated Pauline.

 

“No, I could have died because of me. You don’t get to go and say that you have that much control over anyone else’s life, I _chose_ to come with you, I _chose_ to enter Bowser’s castle, and I _chose_ to fight by your side. You didn’t make me, it wasn’t your choice, it was mine. And this, this right here, is my choice too. I’m going to help you, because you clearly need help, and someone needs to talk some sense into you so that you’re willing to take it!” Goombrielle finished with a huff. “I’m not letting you go out there alone. It’s dangerous. I started this mission, and I’m going to see it through to the end.” Pauline had no response for a long while.

 

“Let’s get going then…” she managed. Goombrielle nodded, pulling out the map and beginning to find new coordinates. 

 

“So while you were out, I couldn’t move, but I could hear bowser talkin,’” she started, “they’re headed to a place called ‘Dry, Dry Desert.’ That’s where we should go next.”

 

“Alright,” agreed Pauline, “lead the way.” And so, they went, Pauline keeping Toad’s odd advice in the back of her mind.


	7. The First Rescue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pauline and Goombrielle mean business. They're gonna get Peach back no matter what.

_Pauline awoke to sunlight streaming through the light-pink canopy of the extremely comfortable bed, feeling someone pressed up close against her chest, breathing evenly. Right, she and Peach had spent the night together again. The princess was curled up, arms wrapped loosely around Pauline, and she seemed to be smiling in her sleep. Pauline wanted so badly to stay, but she could only imagine what would happen if Toad were to come in for his daily duties and find them there._

_He was in charge of waking Peach and dressing her. While the princess and the mayor both found that tradition to be extremely silly, it was also necessary for a woman of her status to meet a very specific dress code, and Toad was always there to make sure that she did._

_That was why Pauline had to leave. Lying together with nothing to conceal them besides the bedsheets was hardly an appropriate way for Toad to find them, and he usually came in an hour after sunrise. Pauline took Peach’s hands into her own, gently extracting herself from the woman’s embrace. A little sadly, she left a kiss on the woman’s forehead, tucking her in and going to put her clothes on in order to go out into the world._

_Just as she finished buttoning her blazer -fortunately, she kept many clean changes of clothes in Peach’s wardrobe now, hidden at the back- she heard the woman in the bed begin to shift. Turning just in time, Pauline saw Peach sit up and stretch, the sheets sliding down and off of her body._

_She looked like a goddess in the sunlight, and Pauline couldn’t help but go over to greet her._

_“Good morning, princess,” she murmured, sitting next to her on the bed, “up a little early this morning, are we?” Peach mumbled something incoherent, wrapping her arms around Pauline from behind and pulling her into a hug. Pauline chuckled._

_“What was that?” she asked._

_“Stay with me,” murmured Peach, “just a little longer.”_

_“Toad comes in an hour,” Pauline gently reminded her._

_“I don’t care.” Peach pouted stubbornly, resting her head on Pauline’s shoulder “I want you with me. I’m a grown woman, I should be allowed to sleep with whomever I want.”_

_“But you’re a monarch,” sighed Pauline._

_“Yeah…” mumbled Peach, closing her eyes, “but you’re so warm. Everything else is always so cold.”_

_“Such is life, princess,” said Pauline, “but I’ll be back for you, probably in a day’s time.”_

_Peach, in a manner very unbecoming of a princess, flopped backwards onto the bed, bringing Pauline with her. The other woman chuckled, kicking off her high heels and turning around to face her._

_“Hey!” she said playfully, “you know I can’t stay. The toads get up soon, I need to leave now or they’ll see me leaving the castle and know that I stayed the night.” Peach didn’t seem to be listening._

_“You put your clothes on…” she said, sounding a little disappointed, “I like it when I can hold you without this stuff in-between us.” Pauline smiled._

_“Come on, Peach. I have to go,” she said, trying very weakly to stand up. Peach kept her down, and she definitely didn’t protest._

_“Take me with you…” murmured Peach._

_“Would you really like that?” asked Pauline._

_“Huh?” asked Peach, seeming more awake._

_“I told you that I’d take you to my city when you want to take a day, just for the two of us. Would you like to go now?” asked Pauline. Peach looked at her, seeming a little forlorn and rejected._

_“Yes, I really, really want to,” she said, “but…”_

_“The kingdom,” Pauline finished for her._

_“Yes, the kingdom…” muttered Peach. She sighed, eventually forcing herself to let go of Pauline and immediately feeling the emptiness in her arms once the woman stood, putting her heels back on._

_“Hey, I love you,” said Pauline. Peach huffed, pretending to be grouchy with her for leaving. Pauline smiled, tousled the princess’s hair, and left._

_Peach would regret her lack of response for the rest of her life. She would regret not going with her, and would regret not asking her to stay with such conviction that she just couldn’t say no. Pauline would only come back once before it happened, but Peach didn’t know that yet._

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

The loud, blaring whistle of a train woke Pauline from her slumber. She felt a lot better than she had in Bowser’s castle, and she was ready to face the world again. Goombrielle was sitting next to her, looking at the map and occasionally glancing out of the train windows at the tall sand dunes. The train slowly chugged to a stop, and Pauline could see the steel support beams of a train station whizz past the train until it pulled to a complete stop. 

 

“Attention all passengers: This is the end of the line, Dry, Dry, Desert. Please disembark the train at this time, and mind the gap.” The announcement boomed over the intercom, and Pauline stood up with Goombrielle in tow, leading her off of the train and into the blisteringly hot air of the desert. 

 

“Woo! Yeah, that’s a desert alright!” Goombrielle explained, holding the map up for Pauline to see, “now we’ve gotta go north for a really long time, so make sure you’ve got water and nutrients. You wouldn’t wanna pass out out there, I’d try to drag you back, but you’re four times my size.”

 

“Thanks, Goombrielle,” said Pauline, “where exactly is our destination?” 

 

“Oh stars it’s way out there in the middle-a nowhere,” responded Goombrielle, leading the way out into the desert, “I mean at least that Toad guy helped me find it, or else we’d just be wandering for a long time until we somehow stumbled across it. It’s a pretty obscure ruin.”

 

“Hold up,” said Pauline, “is that a sentient, seven-foot-tall cactus?” There was something very tall and very spiky moving towards them at a relatively frightening speed.

 

“So it is,” said Goombrielle, “that’s a Pokey. Run.” She led the way and they both sprinted away from the sentient cactus. Once they were sure that they’d lost it, Goombrielle slowed back down to a walk.

 

“Woah! I’m outta breath,” she said, “can we just.. Sit down for a minute? Have some water?” Pauline nodded, pulling a bottle of water out of her purse and handing it to Goombrielle. They  
took turns drinking from it, and it was quickly emptied. As they sat there, regaining a little bit of their strength, they heard something.

 

“Hello?” It was a dry, cracking voice from just beyond the sand dune in front of them. Goombrielle and Pauline looked at one another.

 

“Anyone? Please?” it rasped. Pauline put the empty water bottle into her purse, closing it and approaching the sand dune. She reached the top, appeared shocked, and sprinted down to the other side, Goombrielle in tow. At the base of the dune was a winged koopa with a battered mail bag. 

 

“Water… please…” rasped the koopa. Without hesitation, Pauline gave him the second bottle of water that she had stashed in her purse. The koopa began drinking it very slowly and carefully, and Pauline realized what happened. He was very dehydrated, and if he drank the water too quickly, his body wouldn’t be able to handle it. He would definitely need some electrolytes, and so she also fished around for her tonic, giving it to him as well. He smiled, thanking her in his raspy voice and downing the small tonic. 

 

“That’s better…” his voice was still rough, but he no longer sounded like he was on the verge of death, “thank you. I thought I was going to die out here. Could you… if you wouldn’t mind, ya know….” He gestured to his right wing, which was under a large rock. Pauline and Goombrielle lifted the heavy rock, tossing it aside a short distance, and the koopa recoiled his wing, hissing a little in pain.

 

“Ah, yep. That’s gonna sting alright,” he said, “but it’s better than being stuck here…”

 

“What happened to you?” asked Goombrielle.

 

“I was delivering mail and then, out of nowhere, someone started launching rocks at me. I dodged a lot of them, but the last one hit me, and I got trapped out here. I tried to yell, but I guess I’m too far away from civilization for anyone to hear me,” the koopa explained. 

 

“That’s terrible, why would they do that to you?” asked Pauline.

 

“For fun, I guess…” muttered the koopa, before he collected himself, “a-anyway, my name is Koops, at your service.”

 

“Oh no,” said Pauline.

 

“Alright!” exclaimed Goombrielle, “another one on the Bowser train!” 

 

“B-Bowser?!” squeaked Koops.

 

“Yeah, he took Princess Peach. Pauline here is trying to get her back,” explained Goombrielle, “We actually just came from his castle. Man, he’s one messed-up dude.”

 

“Do- do I have to fight him?!” asked Koops.

 

“No, no you don’t,” said Pauline, “Goombrielle and I are just fine, you aren’t obligated to help us, don’t worry.”

 

“A-alright, thanks!” exclaimed Koops, “I mean… man, that’s one big koopa! Still, I owe you one, both of you. If I can help you guys, just contact me. I’m the only mailman, so I shouldn’t be hard to find.”

 

“Alright, nice to meet you, Koops!” exclaimed Goombrielle. Pauline waved, and they were off. In about two hours, they finally arrived at the ruins, which seemingly came out of nowhere. They started jutting out of the ground in odd places, and there was only one, tiny, goomba-sized entrance that Pauline could barely fit through. Just as she reached out, ready to help Goombrielle into the ruins, she spotted something on the horizon, moving fast. It was Koops.

 

“Wait!” he exclaimed, “I don’t know how to get back to civilization!” Oh. Right. Pauline supposed that they were stuck with him. She helped Goombrielle through, and then they both lowered a shivering Koops through the entrance. He kept his injured wing folded to his side, and had long since resorted to walking. The ruins were disturbingly quiet. Not quiet as in ‘finally inside after a loud and windy day in the desert’ quiet, but quiet as in ‘you could hear a pin drop a mile away’ quiet.

 

“Jeepers…” muttered Koops.

 

“Really?” responded Goombrielle, “‘jeepers?’” Pauline ignored the two of them as best she could, focusing on finding a path through the odd ruins. There was once again not a single enemy in sight. On multiple occasions, Goombrielle just barely stopped Pauline from tumbling into a pit or floor-trap, but aside from that, there was no danger. That was, until they came to the central chamber of the ruins.

 

This room was dimly illuminated by torches that were stuck to the walls of the triangular prism. With a steel collar around her neck, chained to the wall on the opposite side of the room, was Peach. She was fast asleep, but Pauline almost cried out because she noticed how much worse she looked than before. She looked like she hadn’t eaten in days, and clearly Bowser had gotten physical with her many times after they had left his castle. Pauline held back a sob, running to her and dipping down in front of her to gently unfasten the chain around her neck. Koops ran up behind her, Goombrielle in tow, and tapped her on the back, reaching into his mailbag with his spare hand.

 

“I’ve actually got some tools here…” he whispered, pulling out quite a few screwdrivers, a wrench, and some bolt cutters. Pauline decided not to ask, and she just thanked him, taking the objects and carefully getting to work. First, she unchained Peach from the wall, catching her body as it slumped forward and setting her gently down so that she could get the collar off of her. Fortunately, it opened and closed in a fashion similar to those of handcuffs, and because of the large size of the screws, it was easy for Pauline to open it and release Peach. She sobbed. The poor woman’s neck was red, and there were cuts from struggling against the bonds.

 

“Peach…” she whispered, “Peach, wake up. We need to get you out of here.”

 

“No…” murmured Peach, still half-asleep. It was then that Pauline remembered Toad’s words. He had explicitly said not to wake her up.

 

“Crap- guys,” Pauline whispered, “Peach has to stay asleep, we need to make sure that she doesn’t wake up in the desert.” Like a literal angel from heaven, Koops reached into his bag once more, procuring a few store-brand earplugs that were still in their container.

 

“I can never sleep if it’s even a little loud, so I have some super-strength earplugs. Do you think she could use these?” he asked, handing her a pair after opening the package. Pauline nodded, thanking him as quietly as possible. She didn’t really like putting them in Peach’s ears, but it was necessary. After that, she very, very delicately picked up the sleeping woman, carrying her bridal-style out of the ruins.

 

She took her time, carefully avoiding the traps and pits while not waking Peach. Once they were outside again, the trio began to make their way towards the train station.

 

“I can’t believe we just walked out with her!” whispered Goombrielle. All three of them felt like they would still get caught if they spoke too loudly. 

 

“Toad was right, I think… we just need to make sure that Peach doesn’t wake up until we clear the whole desert,” responded Pauline, also whispering, “I don’t know why, but he was right.”

 

Koops was mostly quiet, taking in the sparse scenery as it went by. When they finally arrived back at the train station, Koops was ecstatic, but Goombrielle reminded him to keep it down. As they boarded the train, Goombrielle politely took Koops to a separate car from that of Peach and Pauline so that they were alone together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> C'mon guys, you can trust me. Peach is safe, I promise!


	8. Peach's Secret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peach reveals a great deal about her relationship with Pauline, and the story itself. Chapter is rated M for safety, but no real smut yet. 
> 
> LANGUAGE AND I mean.. not really smut? Just... foreplay? IN THIS CHAPTER.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had this one in the works for a long time, you guys, (since before chapter 3 was published) I'm so psyched to finally show it to you. The next chapter will be a break from all conflict and worry, so relax a little. For now.
> 
> LANGUAGE AND I mean.. not really smut? Just... foreplay? IN THIS CHAPTER.

When Peach awoke, they were on the train. Slightly confused, she removed her earplugs and threw them into the small, sterling silver trashcan, before looking around to the rest of the small cabin. Pauline was on the plush bench to her left, reading a somewhat poorly-rendered newspaper that was clearly not intended to be picked up, and she didn’t seem to notice her. Peach hesitated for a moment, before, throwing herself into Pauline’s arms, holding the woman close and effectively ruining the newspaper in more ways than the game devs cared to animate. It was discarded, and Pauline carefully hugged her back. 

 

“Sleep well, Princess?” she asked smugly. Peach looked like she was about to cry tears of actual joy, and she just nodded, kissing Pauline happily. Pauline froze for a minute, before she realized what was happening, and she kissed back for the brief instant before they broke apart. It wasn’t intended to be a passionate kiss, just one that showed how relieved they both were that they had made it out of there in one piece.

 

Peach kept peppering kisses all over Pauline’s face, until the woman just knew that she’d have quite a great deal of lipstick to wash off of her face before they arrived at Mushroom Kingdom. 

 

“We did it!” Peach sobbed, kissing her one last time before holding her close. Pauline hugged the woman back, and cocked an eyebrow even though she couldn’t see.

 

“Surprised that I could rescue you?” she asked playfully, “Princess, I’m hurt.” Peach just shook her head.

 

“No, no…” she managed, “it’s a long story. I’ll explain it when we’re home.”

 

“Peach… what?” murmured Pauline, getting no response. They held one another close for a while, before Pauline was surprised by a sudden movement. 

 

“I can touch you!” exclaimed Peach, pulling back a little to look at Pauline.

 

“Y-yes, Princess,” responded Pauline, confused. Peach looked deep into Pauline’s eyes, giddy. 

 

“I can really touch you!” she cried, wrapping her arms around Pauline and pulling her into another kiss. This one was much deeper than the first, and Pauline found that she didn’t mind. She felt Peach almost immediately suck on her lower lip, and in surprise, she opened her mouth to let the princess explore. She took her tongue into her mouth, sucking delicately. Oddly enough, she didn’t taste of peaches, but she did still taste sweet. They pulled apart for a moment of air, before Peach pulled her back down, kissing her as though she may never kiss her again. Pauline was thoroughly confused, but she let it happen, gently running her hands up and down Peach’s back and sides, before resting them on her hips. 

 

Peach eagerly sat on the woman’s lap, wrapping her legs around her as best she could and placing one of her hands over those of Pauline, encouraging her to feel her. Completely shocked, Pauline could do nothing but comply. She held onto Peach and helped her roll her hips against her, before she instinctively began to reposition. She softly pushed Peach onto her back, thankful for the soft benches in their train cabin. Once she seemed comfortable, Pauline carefully slipped her thigh in-between the woman’s legs, poking her just enough so that Peach knew she was there. With a gasp, the woman rolled her hips against Pauline, seeming surprised by her own reaction. Pauline just smiled, bending over her and letting her hair fall over the two of them. 

 

Stars, Peach was gorgeous. Pauline really, really wanted to have her. And given that she was already blushing, squirming, and panting beneath her, it was really difficult for Pauline to say no. She was about to, when Peach pulled her down and clung to her, grinding shamelessly now against her thigh and making muffled noises of pleasure.

 

“W-Peach, I need to know what prompted this…” managed Pauline, already a little breathless. 

 

“I can finally touch you…” Peach’s voice was so small that Pauline had to pull back a little to see her face. The woman looked so vulnerable in that moment, and so frightened. 

 

“Of course you can,” responded Pauline, “you always could. Why is this different?” Peach shook her head.

 

“I wasn’t able to touch you for so long, Pauline…” murmured Peach, grinding back against her leg once again and rolling her head back in complete elation, “this… this is like heaven…” She sighed and bucked. Pauline stared down at her, confused.

 

“I still don’t understand,” she said.

 

“You don’t need to understand,” whimpered Peach, “nothing else matters right now, just fuck me. It’s been so long...” Pauline’s eyes widened. Where had the princess learned such a word?

 

“Princess-” Pauline had to stop. She saw the fear of rejection in Peach’s eyes, in that small moment, as the woman released her completely, “what about Mario?”

 

“It’s a long story,” responded Peach, furrowing her brow, “I haven’t had you in so long, though… Please. I _need_ you, Pauline.” Stars, that voice. Pauline had to keep a low whimper from coming from her throat.

 

“H… what do you mean? You haven’t had me ever,” said Pauline, “Peach, are you sure that you’re alright? You’re making no sense, I don’t think that you’re in an appropriate state of mind to be making these decisions.” Peach huffed, before sitting up completely while Pauline resumed sitting a respectable distance away from her.

 

“Okay, I won’t act on it… but please let me hold you,” asked Peach. Pauline nodded, opening her arms, into which Peach ran. 

 

“Will you tell me what’s going on with you?” asked Pauline. Peach sighed, snuggling into her as best she could.

 

“It hurts to talk about…” muttered Peach, “it scares me very badly. What could have happened...”

 

“Peach…” Pauline spoke with a softer tone, looking down to the woman in her arms, “I can’t help you out if I don’t know what’s wrong, and I certainly can’t be with you if I think that you have clouded judgement. Can you please explain what’s going on?” There was a pause. Peach nestled into Pauline, hiding her face in the woman’s neck.

 

“Alright…” she mumbled. Pauline rubbed her back, trying to soothe her.

 

“It all started that night that you came to see me,” Peach began, “well… it wasn’t night this time around, but it was night the first time.”

 

“What do you mean?” asked Pauline.

 

“It’s… quite difficult to say, Pauline,” explained Peach, “but I’ll do my best. The first time that I ever saw you, it wasn’t the same ‘you’ that I’m speaking with now. You see, I have an acquaintance, whom I thought dead for the longest time. She is able to traverse the universe so quickly that she rewinds time, all the way back to when the universe was created. Each time that she does this, a new universe results, because people make different choices here and there. Are you with me so far?”

 

“I… I think so…” muttered Pauline, lost.

 

“In layman’s terms, my acquaintance has access to alternate universes,” said Peach. Pauline nodded. It wasn’t the weirdest thing she’d seen that week.

 

“The first time that I ever met you, Pauline, we were in a different universe. Everything was very similar, but there were a few notable differences. For instance, there was no Mario. It was just you and I, and you would regularly save me from Bowser’s shenanigans. I would then reward you with a kiss, or more,” Peach began, “but... Then this particular quest happened. Bowser understood something about you called a system of lives. He theorized that if he got you to lose lives on each challenge, then he would only have to win once against you in the final battle in order to get a ‘Game Over.’ A Game Over counts as you actually dying in the universe where the Game Over happened. I was unaware of this. I watched you die and not get back up. I screamed and cried, and you didn’t get back up. Bowser won.” 

 

Peach had begun to shake a little, and Pauline realized that she was crying. She held the woman closer, rubbing her back softly.  
“T-Then, I met the acquaintance. She said that she could not bring you back to life, but she could give me more chances at saving you. I watched you die countless times, Pauline. I…” Peach hiccuped, “at this point, I just wanted you to stay alive… I… I love you… Even if you can’t remember me yet… You are the same woman that I fell in love with, and I can’t stand to watch you die.” Peach coughed, sniffling, “I felt real heartbreak syndrome, evidently it’s actually possible to feel like your heart is tearing itself up if you get really hurt… it was the most excruciating agony that I’ve ever felt. Still, I couldn’t stop trying. I just… had to do something to stop Bowser before he started his plans with you.

 

“But… it didn’t work.” Peach paused, nuzzling against Pauline as a reminder that she was still there, “I… Stars, when I first heard you knock, Pauline, I just… I needed to have you with me… I couldn’t let you leave, I missed talking to you so much… Then Bowser came and ruined everything again. But this time… this time I remembered the second trap that was supposed to take another of your lives. It was engineered by Kammy Koopa to tell when I was awake, and trigger the pyramid falling in on itself and crushing you in front of me. I saw you get crushed so many times…” Peach whimpered, shuddering.

 

“But, she couldn’t tell if I was awake if I was just drifting in and out of sleep… Out of sheer luck, I guess I just managed to remain asleep this once, and we’re free,” finished Peach, “if we hadn’t been lucky, I would have lost you again…” There was a long pause, in which Pauline merely held Peach as she cried, whispering what little comforts she could think of. 

 

“Don’t leave me… please,” begged Peach, sobbing, “I can’t see you die again. I love you…” Pauline couldn’t say that she loved her back. She barely knew her. It pained her, she wanted to say it and she knew that Peach desperately needed to hear it, but she also knew that Peach would know that it was a lie if she said it now. Instead, she waited.

 

“I won’t leave you,” she murmured, running her hands through Peach’s hair, “you’re safe now. We both are. I’m here.” Peach clung to her, and her sobs gradually died down to nothing but quiet, gentle breaths.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Peach finally got to say that she loved her.


	9. Reborn from the Ashes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peach and Pauline go about rebuilding their relationship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There have been quite a number of requests for an update, so I've decided to break what was originally going to be one big chapter into three smaller chapters, that way you guys get updates sooner. This means that there will, of course, be two more chapters in the story.

 

When they finally arrived in the Mushroom Kingdom, it was nighttime again. Peach had been restless during the train ride, and she looked towards the castle with tired eyes as she disembarked. She had never gotten this far in any timeline. Pauline had always died before she could save her, and now, in the universe where she was alive, they had never dated. Fate really liked to get her hopes up just to beat them down, didn’t it? Furthermore, knowing that Pauline was alive and well, Peach couldn’t ask to restart the universe. That would feel too much like erasing Pauline herself, and so Peach was resigned to her fate. In this universe, Pauline didn’t know her well. In this universe, Pauline was alive, but she just wasn’t the same Pauline. 

“Where should we go from here?” came a soft voice. It was Pauline, getting off of the train behind her. Peach turned to her, partially illuminated by the moonlight, and Pauline could barely see her tears. Barely. 

“Hey…” she gently moved forward, wrapping her arms around the smaller woman, “hey, it’s okay.” Peach closed her eyes, pressing into the embrace. It felt so familiar and warm. Those strong arms, the exact same perfume… it felt like she was with her Pauline, but she wasn’t. Her Pauline was dead. She hadn’t realized that she had started to sob until she was pulled out of her spiraling thoughts by Pauline’s hand on her back, massaging it slowly in soft reassurance. 

“It’s okay,” murmured Pauline, “I’m here. I’ve got you.” Peach shivered, pulling her closer and sobbing. 

“You’re here…” Peach responded softly, speaking just to hear the phrase reiterated. 

“I’m here,” confirmed Pauline. 

“She may not be here, but you are,” Peach murmured, voice barely a whisper. She sounded bittersweet, but not upset. They stood like that for a long moment, before breaking apart and just looking at one another. The world around them seemed muted, and everyone else ceased to exist. In that moment, there was only them and the soft beams of moonlight that shone through the train station, illuminating their faces and casting tall shadows on the ground.

“There’s no way that I could ever hope to understand what you’ve gone through,” said Pauline, furrowing her brow, “but I want to be there for you in every way that I can. Will you let me…” she trailed off for a moment, blushing slightly before continuing, “will you let me stay by your side?” Peach looked up at her. She was silent for a long moment, in which Pauline scolded herself and prepared to be shut down. What she didn’t expect was for Peach to slowly pull her down into a soft, gentle kiss. It lasted for just a moment before they broke apart, oblivious to the gasps of the people around them. 

“Pauline Verducci,” murmured Peach, “I will  _ always _ want you to stay by my side.” Pauline offered her a soft smile, nuzzling her nose. 

“Let’s get you home, Princess.”

  
  


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When they arrived at Peach’s castle, Pauline was prepared to show herself to the door, but she had been fully expecting it when she felt a tug on her elbow. The princess looked at her, seeming extremely shy and a little embarrassed, which surprised Pauline. This was definitely the first time that Peach had seemed bashful about her interest in Pauline, and honestly, it was a little adorable.

“Stay?” asked Peach. Her voice was so small, and it practically broke Pauline’s heart.

“Of course, Princess,” Pauline reassured her, “as long as you’ll have me.” Peach smiled, taking her hand and leading her up to her quarters. She got undressed, and Pauline stood awkwardly to the side. Once Peach noticed her discomfort, she smiled a little, almost laughing.

“Oh, I’m just getting into my bedclothes,” she said, before winking “you’re perfectly welcome to intervene, but it’s been a long day and we both need sleep.” Pauline nodded, smiling as the woman put on her bedclothes, and Pauline began to change into a pair that had been lent to her. She had to admit that princess pajamas looked absolutely ridiculous, and she had to muffle her laughter as she and Peach crawled into bed. 

Peach turned around to face her, seeming tentative and worried. Before she could speak, Pauline knew what she wanted. Or at least, she could guess, because she wanted it too. 

“Is it alright if I hold you?” she asked. Peach looked relieved, and nodded.

“Yes, please,” she responded quietly. Pauline wrapped her arms around the smaller woman, pulling her close but not uncomfortably close, and cradling her gently. Within minutes, Peach sank into a peaceful slumber, and Pauline followed closely after.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Waking up was possibly the best thing that Pauline had ever experienced. She looked down to her arms where the adorable, tiny princess slept, curled against her as close as she could possibly get. She watched the woman breathe slowly in and out, and was happy to see her face appear so much more serene than it had been for weeks. She was even smiling a little, which caused Pauline to smile affectionately. It took Peach a few minutes to wake up.

She was disoriented for a moment, and then she seemed shocked, before looking up to Pauline in surprise. It took her a moment to remember what had happened the night before, but when she did, she broke into a tearful smile and launched herself at the woman, hugging her close.

“You really stayed…” she murmured.

“Of course, princess,” said Pauline, rubbing her back slowly, “I couldn’t just leave you.” Peach purred, nuzzling the woman in her arms.

“I’m so glad you stayed…” she said, sounding so genuinely happy that it was impossible for Pauline not to smile as well. There was a long moment of comfortable silence before either of them spoke again.

“So, princess…” Pauline started, pulling back a little, “I had an idea.”

“Oh?” prompted Peach, smiling and looking to Pauline. She recognized the playful undertones, and got a little excited and curious at what the woman had in store. Pauline nodded.

“How about you and I take the day to ourselves. We both need some R&R, and I’d like to get to know you better,” she proposed, “so how about we go somewhere nice and relaxed, just the two of us?”

“I like the sounds of that,” said Peach, grinning, “where do you think we should go?”

“How about the Seaside Kingdom?” offered Pauline, donning an affectionate smile, “I’ve actually got a little beach-house there, for when things get too stressful every once in awhile and I need some time to relax.”

“That sounds wonderful,” sighed Peach. Honestly, it sounded like exactly what she needed, and spending her time there with Pauline would make it even better, “when can we leave?”

“Whenever you like, love,” responded Pauline, “if you’d like to just lounge around in bed for a while, I’m definitely not opposed to that.” Peach nodded, setting her head back down and resting against Pauline’s chest, where she could easily hear her heartbeat. It calmed her, and served as a constant reminder that the woman in her arms was here and alive. 


End file.
